Paul M. Stewart

Surface Water Quality: Have the Laws Been Successful?

To evaluate the success of US environmental laws over the past two decades, the author examines the aquatic life of river systems in the Delaware Valley, Texas and Georgia - the only areas in the USA where she found enough biological data to determine trends over time. Although tracing the impact of environmental laws is difficult, Patrick found that for these three water systems the results were generally positive. However, if society as a whole wants effective environmental legislation, organizations must take on a more systematic and orderly approach to data gathering. Patrick argues that in monitoring the waters, one must study protozoa, algae and worms as well as fish, oysters and shrimp; one must track amounts of metal as well as low concentrations of oxygen. In proposing options for the future, the author predicts that the cost of such monitoring will be higher than present expenditures, but the cost of lax control will be even greater.

List of Abbreviations and Acronyms

The Guide analyses concrete examples of sharing of economic data for statistical purposes, identifies obstacles of data sharing and provides guidance, tools and principles to overcome those barriers. The Guide touches upon the technical tools for data sharing, but the focus is on other aspects, such as, the necessary cultural change, cooperation, communication and legal considerations. These elements are a prerequisite for using the full potential of the technical tools developed to advance the sharing of economic data for statistical purposes. The purpose of increasing data exchange is to improve the quality, coherence and granularity of economic statistics and the ability to better analyse the activities of multinational enterprise groups.